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Match Details
Fixture: (1) Carlos Alcaraz vs (Q) Yannick Hanfmann
Tournament: China Open 2023
Date: September 28, 2023
Round: First round (Round of 32)
Venue: National Tennis Center, Beijing, China
Category: ATP 500
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $3,633,875
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime | Canada - TSN
Carlos Alcaraz vs Yannick Hanfmann preview
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz will face Yannick Hanfmann in the first round of the China Open.
The Spaniard has won 58 out of 65 matches so far this season, with six titles to his name. These include Wimbledon and two Masters 1000 tournament wins in Indian Wells and Madrid.
Alcaraz last competed at the US Open where he was the top seed and defending champion. He started the New York Major against Dominik Koepfer and was adjudged the winner when the German was forced to retire due to injury. He then defeated Lloyd Harris, Dan Evans, Matteo Arnaldi and Alexander Zverev to reach the semifinals, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev in four sets.
Hanfmann's best performance so far this season has been reaching the quarterfinals of the Italian Open, beating the likes of Taylor Fritz and Andrey Rublev.
The German suffered a first-round exit at the US Open, losing to Jannik Sinner, and then competed in the qualifying rounds of the China Open. He faced Dusan Lajovic in the opening round and won 6-3, 7-6 to set up a clash against another Serb, Miomir Kecmanovic in the second qualifying round.
Hanfmann dominated the first set and won it 6-1 to take the lead in the match. He then claimed the second set 6-3 to book his place in the main draw of the ATP 500 tournament.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Yannick Hanfmann head-to-head
The head-to-head between the two currently stands at 0-0 as they haven't yet faced off on the ATP Tour.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Yannick Hanfmann odds
All odds are sourced from BETMGM.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Yannick Hanfmann prediction
Alcaraz will enter the match as the favorite to win given his performances so far this season.
The Spaniard has maintained an incredible level of tennis since last season and will look to start his China Open debut in the strongest way possible. He deploys an attacking style of play but is also a good defensive player. Alcaraz has a solid serve and is a good hitter of the ball, and while skills like these can make things hard for his opponent, his well-disguised drop shots will also come in handy.
Hanfmann's serve is a key weapon and he will aim to dominate his service games while looking for the odd break. The German's returning skills will have to be efficient and he cannot afford to make too many unforced errors if he is to stand a chance against Alcaraz.
While Hanfmann has caused a few upsets this season, most notably on clay, Alcaraz's quality should see him come out on top without much trouble and reach the second round of the China Open.
Pick: Alcaraz to win in straight sets.
